By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Troops of the Nigerian Army have uncovered a suspected criminal hideout deep inside a forest in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, where they also recovered assault rifles, locally made guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and materials suspected to be used for making improvised explosive devices.
The discovery followed a chain of security operations triggered by the abduction of three persons in the Osakwa General Area of Ihiala Local Government Area.
The victims were reportedly rescued after troops and local security volunteers moved against the suspected kidnappers, which further led to the arrest of one of the alleged members of the syndicate.
The suspect, identified as Sunday Obi, was arrested during a follow-up operation at about 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 1, according to security sources.
Information allegedly obtained from him subsequently took the security team beyond the initial location and into Abator in Ogbaru, across the Isieke waterside, where a suspected camp used by the criminal group was said to be located.
Getting to the location was, however, not straightforward, as the troops had to use canoes to cross the waterways before making their way through the surrounding forest to reach the suspected hideout.
It was gathered that when the troops got to the camp, they reportedly encountered the occupants, who fled into the forest with various degrees of gunshot injuries during the ensuing exchange of gunfire.
The operation nevertheless yielded a substantial quantity of weapons and other items which the security team recovered from the abandoned hideout.
Reports have it that two AK-47 rifles and their magazines were recovered from the camp alongside three pump-action guns and three locally fabricated dane guns.
The troops also found 62 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, 149 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, two cartridges, two mobile phones, solar generator, power bank, car battery, two motorcycle batteries and two solar panels.
The recovered items are expected to provide investigators with additional leads as they work to establish further details on the activities of the syndicate, its sources of weapons and other supplies, as well as possible links to other criminal operations.
As at the time of this publication, efforts are currently ongoing towards locating the other members of the gang who escaped from the camp and identifying other persons who may have provided logistical support to the criminal gang.
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